Your Majesty
by momocandy
Summary: It's scary what some people do for power. But even before that, Hyuuga Natsume already had some problems of his own. Like how the hell he was supposed to choose between a princess and a pauper. "If only he knew then how much would change within a month."
1. The Princess

**Please have mercy! **

**I know you guys probably want to kill me for publishing another new fanfic without even updating the others, but this idea just came to mind and I couldn't let it wait!**

**Disclaimer: The day I own Gakuen Alice will be the day pigs fly.**** (I usually don't do this, but I decided to go professional. ;D And disclaimers seem fun to type.) **

* * *

**Your Majesty**

**by: momocandy XD**

**Chapter One - The Princess**

**XXX**

"Please come this way."

The old man walked briskly toward a monstrous set of gold-trimmed doors, cringing as he caught a whiff of dirt and dust from the two ragged-looking boys trailing behind him.

_What a disgrace to have such scum in the Royal Palace,_ the old man thought, his displeasure shown by the deep frown creasing his face.

The visitors, completely oblivious to their escorter's discomfort, could only gape, speechless, at the extravagant display of wealth within the Royal Palace. It was like an impossible dream, and both of them knew quite well that they didn't belong in it. Their two dark, worn figures looked horribly misplaced against the spotless white marble, and just the thought of that made the boys fidget uncomfortably.

One poked at his tattered clothes nervously and ran an agitated hand mulitple times though his disheveled golden tresses, trying to make the best of his shaggy appearance. He had managed to wash himself up before he traveled here, but other than that, there was not much he could do. A ripped, stained shirt and dirt-crusted, baggy pants were the only garments he had.

The other boy was considerably less anxious, though his sharp crimson eyes darted rapidly from side to side, carefully analyzing this foreign surrounding. He wasn't accustomed to such cleanliness, and his jaw clenched every time he thought of his little sister, who, compared to all this, had to live in a dump of a village. He still felt guilty for leaving her there with his neighbor, but her life would be much worse here, where she would have to adjust to a whole new living environment. Aoi was old enough. She could take care of herself.

"The Throne Room," the old man cleared his throat loudly as he slowly pushed open the enormous doors, making the most dramatic show for these two lowly peasants. "Behold, Her Majesty, Princess Sakura Mikan."

Two jaws dropped to the floor as the visitors were faced with a magnificent chamber bathed in rays of broken sunlight. Looking up, they saw a ceiling so high that it seemed to disappear into the clouds. At the far end of the walkway, which was furnished majestically with a soft maroon carpet, a golden throne stood, on which the faint figure of a girl sat, while another slim figure, most probably a personal maid, was positioned obediently at her side.

It was like the realm of a goddess.

"Your Highness, two _commoners_ wish to see you," the old man said the word as if it were something revolting. "They refused to leave the palace doors regardless of my actions, so I had no choice but to bring them here. My deepest apologies."

There was a slight pause before the princess replied.

"Understood, Jinno. You may leave."

The old man bowed respectfully, but otherwise seemed rather displeased with her response.

"Thank you, Your Highness. But...are you sure you want to waste your time with these good-for-nothing—"

"Are you telling me what to do, Jinno?" the calm, challenging voice of the princess interrupted.

The old man shrank back.

"N-No, of course not, Your Highness. Simply unthinkable. Wouldn't dream of it. I—I will excuse myself now."

He gave one last, hurried bow before making a quick exit through the gold-trimmed doors, closing them securely in the process and leaving the two visitors alone.

The blonde boy swallowed. The princess certainly seemed to hold authority well. He was beginning to feel doubtful of their plan.

"Commoners, come before me and state your names," her commanding voice echoed across the room once again, jolting Ruka to attention.

The two boys immediately stumbled up the red carpet, and as they got closer, the outline of the princess became more distinct. But they could hardly contain their surprise when they saw her actual apearance. She was pretty, yes, but she couldn't have been any older than they were! However, there was this cold, regal air around the princess that made her seem a lot more mature than your average sixteen-year-old.

Once they were at the foot of the thone, the two boys knelt clumsily and recited their names.

"N-Nogi Ruka," the blonde stuttered, head low.

"Hyuuga Natsume," the one with crimson eyes replied. He had evidently more confidence, but a nervous edge was still present in his otherwise steady voice.

The princess mused over these names for a moment, and then, finding nothing special about them, continued with her inquiry.

"Why have you come?"

Ruka opened his mouth to answer like they had planned, but his words failed him at the most vital moment. Instead, Natsume, who was known for being brash with words, intercepted.

"Your Highness, we would like to take the position as your personal butlers," he deadpanned.

The princess raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised at the sudden request, though there was a hint of something deeper raging beneath her hazelnut eyes.

"And why is that?" she questioned.

This time, after taking a deep breath, Ruka was able to speak.

"Because, Your Highness, we heard that this job receives a great sum of money, and we would like to use it to save our village from its current poverty."

Though it was a very understandable and honorable reason, the princess's lips only curved into a smirk.

"Of course—money. I should've known. How foolish. I must give you two bravery for confronting me with such a trivial matter."

Natsume felt his mouth fall slack at those heartless words.

"Trivial...? _Trivial_? Are you fucking _kidding_ me—" He could say no more as his angry words were then muffled by Ruka's frantic hand.

"Shut up!" the blonde hissed angrily.

But before either of them could try to recover themselves, there was a sudden glint of silver metal, and suddenly, they found themselves at the end of a dangerously sharp sword, the point hanging only an inch away from their faces.

"How _dare_ you use such vulgar words in the presence of Her Highness! Apologize, _now_!" The figure that had been standing beside the princess upon their entrance now ordered them with the most terrifying stance.

At once, Ruka bowed on shaky kness, his head practically touching the ground. Natsume reluctantly followed.

"We are very sorry," they apologized in unison.

The girl, who had short black hair and striking amethyst eyes, crinkled her nose in disgust as she sheathed her sword, then resumed her former position beside the throne.

The princess smiled, but it was an icy smile that chilled them to the bone.

"My apologies. Hotaru can be a bit aggressive."

Ruka shivered unconsciously. He had never heard such an understatement. He could still feel those fierce violet eyes fixed on him, eyes that looked like they'd seen death before and wouldn't mind seeing it again.

"So, do you still wish to become my personal butlers?" the princess asked, her curly auburn hair spilling forward as she smoothed the ruffles of her elegant gown.

"Yes," the boys replied firmly. That was a given, no matter what.

She eyed them condescendingly.

"You are aware of the weight of this request, are you not? You are just mere commoners. How can I be sure that you will do your job well? And I would hate to contaminate the Royal Palace with your filthy upbringings."

It was all Natsume could do not to go up to that damned golden throne right then and there and strangle the princess to death.

"We understand that our request may be unreasonable, but we are begging for you to give us a chance," Ruka pleaded.

"And why should I do that?" the princess persisted stubbornly. "You are no more than lowly peasants who yearn for money. There are many impoverished villages out there. What makes you two so special?"

Ruka bit his lip uncertainly. This was the one question that they had been worried about. Because there was _nothing_ that made them better than any of the other villages. Luckily, Natsume's quick wits came to the rescue.

"However, Your Highness, I believe that we are the _first_ of these penniless peasants to confront you, yes?" he phrased cleverly. "And true princess's see to the happiness of _all_ of their subjects."

The brunette's expression hardened.

"Are you implying that I am not a true princess?"

Natsume didn't even hesitate.

"Exactly."

Hotaru's hand immediately flew to her blade, but the princess stopped her before she could slice the boy to pieces.

"Princess!" Hotaru protested, but the princess just shook her head.

Natsume thought he saw something in her dark, churning eyes...something like...guilt?

"Leave. You cannot become my personal butlers," she ordered the two boys coldly.

"Why?" Natsume demanded.

"You are in no position to question me."

Ruka stood up defiantly, finding confidence.

"Your Highness, that isn't fair."

The princess's expression darkened.

"Life isn't fair. Live with it. Now leave, before I let Hotaru do as she wishes."

Natsume ignored the murderous glare that the black-haired girl was giving him and stood up as well, irritated. "Look here, Princess. We're only doing this so we could save our village. I don't give a damn about you. You can go die in a hole for all I care."

"You—!" Hotaru growled, but was once again halted by the princess, who was watching Natsume intently. For a fleeting second, Natsume thought he saw some kind of pained expression visible behind her usual blank facade. But it could've been just his imagination.

"There's probably thousands of servants working here. Why the fuck can't you just add two more?"

He was getting fed up with the princess's spoiled attitude. It was no wonder that the Sakura Kingdom was in such a chaotic state. If they really had such a selfish ruler, Natsume was surprised that the capital hadn't entirely collapsed yet. He and Aoi and Ruka were suffering—his village and all of the villages around him were suffering—and it was her fault. It was all Princess Sakura Mikan's fault. And yet, the girl could still enjoy such luxuries! She could still have such a wonderful, rich life.

He hated her.

It was just that simple.

He _hated_ her.

"That's not the problem, _boy,_" the princess sneered, breaking him from his thoughts in the most unpleasant manner. "I wouldn't care if you wanted to become a servant. The more, the merrier—don't you agree? But being my personal butler is a whole different thing, now isn't it?"

Natsume gritted his teeth.

"You...You should be happy that we're actually _willing_ to enter your slaveforce. You lazy, spoiled _bitch_."

The princess's eyes widened in shock. Her mouth opened slightly, and from it uttered three broken words.

"How..._dare_...you..."

She slowly removed her hand from Hotaru's arm, her hazel eyes filled with a silent fury.

"Go, Hotaru."

Natsume had never seen a girl move so fast.

Before he could even blink, the warrior was upon him.

His stunned crimson eyes could only watch as Hotaru raised her sword, its golden hilt flashing in the sunlight...

He vaguely heard Ruka yelling in the back.

"Natsume, run! Can you hear me? Natsume!"

The sword came down...down...

"Dodge it, Natsume! Left! Left!"

At the very last second, he felt himself roll to the side.

Pain in his right arm.

Fire.

Blood.

And then it was over.

Ruka immediately scrambled over to him and tore off a piece of his already ripped shirt, trying his best to stop the blooms of red already spilling from the deep cut running a short length along his best friend's right arm.

"Natsume! Natsume! Can you hear me? Are you okay?" he cried frantically.

A pair of disoriented crimson eyes fluttered open and Natsume slowly sat up. He groaned, trying to shake away the black and red spots that smudged his vision. His arm felt like it was being bathed in flame.

"I'm fine, Ruka. Let me stand."

Ruka was about to protest, but then, glancing at the princess, decided that there was no time for that. He reluctantly helped Natsume up, careful to keep his injured arm suspended.

"Hey, you," Natsume nodded toward Hotaru, who was currently using a wet towel to clean his blood off of her sword. "You could've killed me. Why didn't you?"

Her emotionless amethyst eyes met his.

"The princess is not fond of murder. That was just a minor punishment."

Natsume raised his eyebrows and couldn't resist an incredulous laugh.

"Not fond of murder? _Not fond of murder?" _His crimson eyes flashed with angry contempt as he glared at the princess. "Well then, does the princess know how many people are fucking _killing_ themselves out there because they can't take life anymore? How many people are _dying_ because there's nothing else they can do? And why? Because of you, _princess._ You and your shitty, heartless ruling. The whole reason why this kingdom is such a disgrace is because of you. I'm a fucking _orphan_ because of you. It's all your fault, you_ murderer_."

"Shut. Your. Mouth." Hotaru stormed over to him and brandished her sword at his throat. "Or else, I swear to God, I will send you to a place worse than Hell."

But despite the warrior's defense, the words had already took their toll. The princess looked like she had just been smacked hard across the face. She blinked a few times, only to revealed shattered brown eyes. Her tiny frame quivered as she sat in shock, almost threatening to break. Her thin lips parted and she took a shaky breath.

"Fine...fine. Do as you wish, you wretched boys," her words trembled as if she had been severely tramautized.

Natsume smirked inwardly. So the princess had finally been put in her place.

"I...I will give you one month. One month to serve in the Royal Palace. Come October thirty-first, if you two have not yet left the palace doors, I will not be held responsible for anything that might happen."

"Princess, you aren't serious—?" Hotaru studied her with a mixture of unreadable emotions swirling in her amethyst eyes.

Natsume wasn't fazed by the threat, mainly because he didn't understand it. But that didn't matter.

"Believe me, Your Highness, as soon as we receive enough money to support our village, you will never see us again," he promised, panting slightly due to the fact that his wound was still losing blood.

"Very well," the princess gave a small nod. "Hotaru, go prepare two rooms."

"But—"

"Hotaru."

The princess and the warrior met eyes and shared a silent exchange. Then Hotaru sighed.

"As you wish, Your Highness."

She bowed and stepped aside so that the princess could stand.

"Return by the curfew at ten. Your rooms will be ready then," the princess informed the two boys.

She gave Natsume and Ruka one last, frigid glare before disappearing with Hotaru through a silver door at the right.

_One month, huh?_ Natsume thought as his crimson eyes watched the silver door creak to a close. A smug smirk settled onto his lips. _That's more than enough time. This'll be easy._

If only he knew then how much would change within a month.

* * *

**So...was it boring? Maybe...probably...most likely... **

**I'm expecting this story to be pretty long, but then again, all of my other stories are supposed to be pretty long too, except for the fact that none of them have reached higher than ten chapters yet. **

**I know I have to update a lot. Please don't kill me.**

**On a happier note, Fall break's just started, so I'll try my best!**

**And don't forget to leave a review! **

**I hate liars, so please don't be one. Critics, on the other hand, are very awesome people.**

**-momocandy XD**

**P.S. If any of you readers live in the tri-state area and have experienced the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, I hope that you and your friends and family are all fine. I live in NJ, about an hour from the coast, so I didn't get much damage, but I've watched the news and seen how serious it was. I feel so sorry for those people... :(**


	2. Bagels or Donuts?

**I have updated again! Hooray!**

***sigh* I only got four reviews though...what a letdown...**

**But whatever, I'm continuing anyway! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do own Gakuen Alice...somewhere beyond the rainbow.**

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**Your Majesty**

**by: momocandy XD**

**Chapter 2 - Bagels or Donuts?**

**XXX**

"Natsume, you need a band-aid," Ruka decided as he glanced at his friend's arm wound for the millionth time. "Like, a mega-sized band-aid."

"No, I don't," Natsume insisted blandly. "Your shirt is more than enough."

"But you're not applying enough pressure to the wound," Ruka pushed insistently. "That Hotaru girl was damn serious when she stabbed you. Don't blame me when you pass out from excessive blood loss."

"Fine," the crimson-eyed lad answered coolly as he trudged farther into town. "I won't."

Ruka cursed the stupid stubborness of his best friend.

"I'll still have to carry you though!" he added quickly. "Do you know how heavy you are?"

Natsume stopped and looked back at the blonde.

"That's _your_ problem, not mine."

Ruka eyebrow twitched. Why was he even wasting his precious energy on this?

"Fine! Then I'm not carrying you!"

"Whatever."

"You'll be lying completely helpless on the streets!"

"Okay."

"You'll be ambushed by hobos!"

"Do what you want."

Ruka stamped his foot angrily.

"Arggggh! You're so annoying!"

Natsume shrugged.

"Feeling's mutual. Anyways, got some change on you?"

Ruka let out a strangled sigh of frustration and decided to give it up. There was no point in arguing with Natsume. It was literally like talking to a goddamn wall, and he knew that better than anyone.

Rummaging through his pockets, he fished out an old candy wrapper, some useless pieces of paper, and a few...unidentifiable things.

Natsume raised an eyebrow at the diverse collection of items.

"Ruka. That looks like sun-dried cow shit."

Ruka blushed slightly in embarrassment and made a face as he tossed everything into the nearest trash bin and proceeded to wipe his hands repeatedly on his dirty shirt, which Natsume doubted would help much.

"Um...yeah. No money. You?" Ruka asked.

Natsume emptied his pockets, which were surprisingly clean and free of any cow feces.

"Nope."

They looked at each other.

"So we're broke," Ruka concluded.

Natsume shoved his pockets back into his pants.

"Pretty much."

And of course, that's when the most horrible thing that could've happened in this kind of situation happened.

A large growl...from Ruka's stomach.

"You're kidding," Ruka moaned as he slumped and clutched his mid-section. "You have got to be kidding me."

Natsume cringed slightly as his own stomach let out a just as demanding grumble. Racking his mind for ideas on how to keep him and Ruka from starving to death, his crimson eyes spotted a shabby street vendor.

Bingo.

Although he wasn't sure if this was such a reliable source, being covered in graffiti and all.

Natsume decided to take his chances.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ruka questioned curiously as his best friend began walking across the street.

"Vendor."

Ruka looked over and saw a dirty-looking vending machince leaning against the brick wall of an old, worn shop.

"Okaaaay..." he turned back to Natsume. "Natsume, we have. _no_. _money_."

"I know that," the lad replied indifferently.

Ruka eyed his friend skeptically.

"You're not stealing anything, right?"

"No."

"Or breaking?"

"No."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Well, _maybe_ some idiot accidentally left enough change in the slot for us to get something."

Ruka's eyebrows went up. So this was Natsume being desperate.

"That's...kinda impossible, Natsume. Like, one in a million."

"Stop being such a smartass," was Natsume's irritated response. "I said _maybe_."

"But we can't be _that_ lucky..." Ruka trailed off as Natsume bent down to check the slot.

Natsume's poker face changed into a smirk.

"Eat your words, Ruka."

"See, what did I..." Ruka blinked. "WAIT. FOR REAL?!"

Natsume's smirk didn't falter as he showed Ruka the jingling coins in his hand.

"For real."

Ruka's eyes went as big as saucers and his mouth dropped open.

"That's—that's real money? Like, real, REAL money? No way..."

He smacked himself a few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating and peered at the coins again. They sure _looked_ real.

"Damn...maybe our karma is coming back to us or something."

Natsume rolled his eyes, but deep down inside, he agreed with Ruka. Seriously, what were the chances? Truth be told, he was half-joking when he suggested the idea.

Once Ruka got over the stupor of actually finding money in the vendor (which took quite a while), he checked out the options.

"Bagel...donut...or Po...wapon?" he read uncertainly.

The first two choices were decent enough, but the third choice?

"The hell is powapon?" Natsume asked as he studied the different types of donuts that the machine had to offer. "Did you say it wrong or something?"

"Wait, no..." Ruka squinted at the faded letters. It wasn't his fault that their reading teacher was too boring to listen to. "I think it's...'Howalon'."

"That's not a word either, Ruka."

Ruka pouted.

"Well, whatever, it's too expensive anyway! How much money do we have, Natsume?"

"A dollar and fifty cents."

Ruka looked back at the vendor. A bagel was a dollar, and a donut was a dollar.

"Bagel. We're getting a bagel, Natsume," he decided.

"No. We're getting a donut."

Ruka tensed and his gaze shifted to his best friend.

Cerulean met crimson.

It was war.

"We're definitely getting a bagel. Donuts are bad for your health."

"Donuts taste better, and that's what matters right now."

"No, I choose bagel."

"Well, screw you, I choose donut."

"Bagel."

"Donut."

"BAGEL."

"DONUT."

Their fight became loud enough to disturb passing villagers, but as soon as the people looked over and saw it was a seemingly pointless argument between two seemingly homeless boys, they just decided to label them as mentally disabled and stay away.

Natsume and Ruka, oblivious to the all attention they were gathering, continued shouting at each other.

"BAGEL!"

"DONUT!"

Suddenly, Ruka lunged toward Natsume, his hand reaching for the money in Natsume's hand. Taken by surprise, Natsume's grip on the coins loosened.

_Clink._

_Clink._

_Clink._

Time slowed.

The two boys watched in horror as the three precious coins rolled off into the busy street, disappearing behind a blur of feet.

There was absolute silence for ten long seconds. Then Natsume came to his senses.

"Ruuukaaa..." He slowly turned around, his voice dangerously low.

But Ruka wasn't there. Natsume's head snapped back to the street and he quickly spotted the boy's blonde head bobbing up and down between the strolling people and getting farther and farther away from where he stood.

_He's chasing after the coins_, Natsume realized.

His lips curved into a challenging smirk.

_Well, that's too bad, cause I'll be getting to them first._

* * *

"Sorry—excuse me—pardon me—" Ruka apologized as he pushed through the crowds of people, trying his best to keep the escaping coins in his sight.

He felt like an idiot, literally trampling the villagers just to get three runaway coins.

Or maybe he _was_ an idiot.

He didn't even know why he had done something so stupid. Jumping on Natsume—what was he _thinking_? Okay, maybe it was a last resort, but he never thought it would lead to _this_.

Though he did find it amazing that he hadn't lost the coins yet.

Nope, not even one of them.

They were always just within his reach, which made it a whole lot more frustrating. Maybe this was the Devil torturing him or something.

Especially that one time when he was actually right about to grab a coin—it was literally _at_ his fingertips, and then some man just _had_ to come and kick the coin out of his reach. His vocab became very colorful after that.

So much for karma.

And now, Natsume was starting to catch up to him.

_Not_ good, considering the fact that all of this was pretty much his fault, and the guy probably wanted to kill him.

"Argh, you damn coins! Stop rolling already!" Ruka panted as he started to lose patience and stamina.

The coins must've heard his desperation though, because the next thing he knew, they had turned their little heads and tails into an dark, narrow alleyway. Slowing down, Ruka entered the passage and found the coins lying perfectly still next to the cold stone wall.

He half expected them to get up on their own and start rolling again.

But of course they didn't.

Still catching his breath, the blonde picked them up, gave a big sigh of relief, and was just about to step back onto the street.

Until he heard voices.

Ruka froze and slowly turned around. Just behind the corner at the very end of the alleyway, there was somebody there. No, it was more than one person. A few people. All full grown men, judging from their gruff voices.

Natsume entered the alleyway, panting heavily, and was just about to say, or probably yell, something when Ruka clamped a hand over his mouth.

'Shut up,' he mouthed.

Natsume cocked a questioning eyebrow at his best friend. In response, Ruka jabbed his thumb toward the end of the alleyway, and Natsume peered down the passage. He saw nothing, but he did hear the people.

He gave Ruka a 'so what?' look and Ruka just shrugged. Rolling his eyes at his friend's pointless actions, Natsume began to walk back out the way he came from.

"No, please, stop!"

As if someone had smacked him, Natsume's whole body tensed.

A weak cry had sounded from the end of the alleyway.

A girl.

He felt himself turn around.

"Shuddap, bitch!" A man whispered sharply.

There was the sound of a smack.

Natsume started walking down the alleyway. Ruka didn't even hesitate to follow. His pace quickened as he heard the sound of whimpering coming from whoever was being held hostage in such a dark, scary place.

Something was happening. Something bad was happening. Something that could not be heard from the lively street outside. Something that he had to stop.

Ruka couldn't help but smile as he walked alongside his confident friend. Natsume had always had this hero complex. He felt the need to save anybody in trouble, stranger or not. It was one of his better traits. Ruka admired him for that.

Reaching the turn of the corner, Natsume found himself facing a group of buff, grizzly men and two young girls who were tied up and currently being held at knife point.

The men were clearly all bigger, older, and more muscular than him, but he was not the least bit afraid. He knew from experience that these kinds of guys were the weakest.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

* * *

A tiny part of Ruka, the part that was somewhat crazy, was relieved that the girls still had 100% of their clothes on.

Because he considered himself still young and didn't want to witness something like _that_ yet.

He wondered if Natsume thought the same thing.

Meanwhile, the biggest, beefiest man there with the bushiest maroon beard stalked up to Natsume and poked him roughly in the chest.

"Now who's dis liddle rascal here?"

His beady little eyes scanned over Natsume's worn clothing and glittered with malice.

"Anoder one of dose fildy peasants, eh? Whad a loada crap." ("Another one of those filthy peasants, eh? What a load of crap.")

Natsume only smirked, mostly at the man's funny accent. It made him sound like a five-year-old. Wanting to hear more, Natsume decided to play with the man a bit.

"Sir, what is your business with these two ladies?" he asked politely, though anybody could see it was sickeningly fake.

Well, anybody besides the guy he was talking to.

"'Sir'?" The man burst out in loud, raucous laughter. "Didja hear dat, fellas? Dis brat just called me 'sir'!"

His mates all cackled along with him and pounded each other on the backs. Unfortunately, these guys didn't seem to be aware of the existence of toothpaste, because their breath smelled like a garbage dump times ten.

Natsume scrunched up his nose in disgust and couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt when he saw the two poor girls in the back on the verge of passing out from the toxic fumes. Maybe it was time to move on.

"So, your answer?" He interrupted the man's laughter.

"My answer? It's to gader information about de princess of course! De Sakura Kingdom is really becoming a pile of shit, ain't it? Shit, I say!"

He started laughing again.

Natsume watched the man howl like a maniac behind one of his emotionless poker face masks.

_Idiot_, he thought. _This guy is a complete moronic idiot._

But then again, he couldn't really disagree with him.

"Why these girls?" he questioned casually. "What makes them so special?"

The man answered his question without hesitation.

"Oh, dey just looked purty."

Natsume could barely hold back a snort. Purty? What the hell?

He glanced at the two girls who were still tied up, but now seemed less afraid than they had been before.

Maybe because they no longer had knives to their necks, since the men had pulled away while they were laughing.

One had wavy, bubblegum pink hair and the other had straight, navy blue hair. They were indeed pretty, and their elegant, short dresses showed that they belonged to the higher middle class.

Turning back to the man, he stated, "You talk as if you don't live in this kingdom."

The man grinned, showing a mouth full of rotten teeth.

"That's because we don't. We come from the proud—"

At that very moment, there was a loud shout from above and Natsume and Ruka looked up. Their mouths dropped open (or at least Ruka's did) as a shadow fell from the sky and landed right between them and the man.

Long, silver hair.

Emerald eyes.

It was a girl.

"Oooh, anoder purty one," the man rubbed his hands together giddily. "And she can fly too."

But the girl paid him no attention. Instead, she was staring, wide-eyed, at the two boys who stood only a few feet away from her.

Natsume and Ruka, not knowing what to do, stared right back.

The man was right. This was another pretty one.

Suddenly, as if snapping out of a trance, the girl narrowed her eyes and whipped around, walking straight past the man and untying the two girls.

Instead of trying to kill her like most bad guys, the man just watched with a befuddled expression on his face.

"She's not scared?" he asked his mates, who all shrugged and shook their heads.

Natsume felt like smacking himself.

After making sure that the girls were alright, the sliver-haired girl turned around and pointed an accusing finger at the man.

"Hey, fatass! How dare you hurt my friends! You deserve ultimate punishment!"

The man blinked in confusion, though he was a bit pissed that the girl had the nerve to call him a fatass.

"Ultimate punishment? What's dat?"

The silver-haired girl smirked as she stretched out a hand toward the pink-haired girl.

"Hey Anna, mind if I borrow your shoe?"

* * *

**Done!**

**So, this chappy was a lot more easygoing that the first one..._a lot more_.**

**Half of it was probably nonsense. I don't know...the change in mood might be a bit too abrupt...**

**What do you guys think?**

******The next chapter will be a bit more serious though. The silver-haired girl will be introduced and she's not an OC. It might not make sense now, but it will later!**

**If you have anything to critique, please do so! Don't hold back for my sake! I want to improve!**

**And also, please review? For Christmas? It'd be a nice Christmas present... ;D**

**-momocandy XD**


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